Man on wanted list busted for not buckling up

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- A man surnamed Yeh who had been on the wanted list for 16 years was arrested last weekend for not wearing seat belt in the backseat of a car, Keelung City police said yesterday.

According to the police, Yeh, who is 65 years old, rode home with his friends on Saturday night after leaving a bar. However, police stopped the vehicle because Yeh was not wearing a seat belt in the backseat.

The police said that Yeh gave them a false name and false identification numbers in an attempt to avoid arrest; he also kept complaining that police officers were wasting his time.

After police officers could not identify Yeh from the information they entered into the computer, they decided to bring Yeh back to the police station for further investigation, police said.

According to police, Yeh claimed he had not given officers false information, so officers used Yeh's phone to call his son and obtain his real name.

After running Yeh's real name into the station's database, police said they discovered that Yeh had intentionally given officers false identification numbers and that he has been on the wanted list for counterfeiting valuable securities since 1998.

Police said that for the past 16 years, Yeh has always worn suits when out of the house and claimed to be in the real estate business. He did not renew his identification card in order to avoid being arrested.

According to police, Yeh was surprised that officers uncovered his real identity. He said that police had stopped him in the past, but officers did not ask him too many questions as he was wearing a suit.

Police said that Yeh could not believe that, after dodging the police for 16 years, he was eventually arrested for not buckling up.